1. Title, Director, Year?
“Addicted to Plastic,” Ian Connacher, 2008
2. Central Argument?
- plastic dependence (worldwide)
- dangers of plastic - pollution
- plastic is in “everything”
3. Sustainability Problems?
- “cost of my disposable lifestyle”
- “plastics has become a plague for our oceans”
- plastic is dangerously versatile, some people view it as an amazing thing and are hard-pressed to trade it in or stop using it
- “throw-away living”
- marine life mistake it for food
- plastics accumulate pollutants which make their way up the food chain
- selling waste to China because we don’t have the resources to deal with it on our own (supposedly)
- affects of plastics on water pollution
- touching upon the idea that there are “safe amounts of pollutants”
4. Persuasive? Compelling?
- cool graphics, easy to read
- it’s ridiculous how much plastic is out in the ocean.
- dissecting birds and finding plastic…wow
- whether it’s collection out in the ocean or on the beaches, plastics are abundant in the pollutant community
- the truth about recycling – the semantics of recycling (downcycling)
- tough to keep track of all the types of plastic (not like glass)
- “we are the problem and we should provide the solution”
- the extent to which people go to figuring out loopholes in the definition of the plastic bag in cities that ban them somehow are not surprising
- landfill fire in Dehli is pretty shocking
- “this has all come from us, poor families don’t waste anything”
- Anita Ahuja and her Conserve company, providing jobs and manufacturing bags and jewelry
- new-car smell is dosing you with hormones - that’s pretty crazy
- abnormal biological developments
- some controversy illustrated by opposing theories provided by experts = hard to truly understand the problems
- one university professor admits that he has no idea how to solve the problem
5. Not Compelling?
- fun and informative, I think this film did a great job of covering the basics and even delving into some of the more complicated – some of the information seemed a bit superfluous, but whatever you didn’t want to absorb, you didn’t have to, the film still conveyed its message very clearly
6. Info to Seek Out?
- all the cool and innovative ways to reuse plastic really makes me wonder what I can do to help; maybe I’m missing something; maybe there’s some cool little trick I can think up or even include in my designs as an architect
7. Audience?
- written and described in such a way that there is very little the general public can’t understand – maybe some of the more scientific data could escape a few, but the basic ideas are quite simple
8. Actions? Interventions?
- education is needed to make people understand that “their behavior” is causing this damage
- Denmark seems to be doing it right (recycling)
- incentives, refunds
- interesting reuse of plastic – the Texas example – making it into railroad ties
- other examples of reuse show that there are possibilities – Padagonia, carpeting, plastic bags into purses, recycling flip-flops into jewelry and decorations
- “landfills will be the oil wells of the future”
- little village in the Himalayas using plastic alternatives like newspaper
- “fluff” production in Tennessee
- experts are reducing their plastic use because they are well aware of the issues
- it was pretty funny when the director attempted to live his life without plastic
- Dr. Kaminsy’s work on “parolisis,” (sp?) turning plastic back into the oil from which it came and Dr. O’Connor’s bacteria counterpart
- Sony’s vegetable-based plastic and planning on bio-degradable products
- Plantic’s edible plastic (when it dissolves, what does it dissolve into?)
- plenty of examples at the end of the film (I didn’t realize there were so many)
9. Enhance film environmentally? educationally?
- good use of graphics combined with expert interview, to explain gyres
- although humorous, the graphics are definitely insightful
- the final clips showing a myriad of examples is just amazing. most of the movie is pretty dreary, but this ending really uplifting
- this is probably the first film I’ve seen that actually shows potentially viable solutions
“Addicted to Plastic,” Ian Connacher, 2008
2. Central Argument?
- plastic dependence (worldwide)
- dangers of plastic - pollution
- plastic is in “everything”
3. Sustainability Problems?
- “cost of my disposable lifestyle”
- “plastics has become a plague for our oceans”
- plastic is dangerously versatile, some people view it as an amazing thing and are hard-pressed to trade it in or stop using it
- “throw-away living”
- marine life mistake it for food
- plastics accumulate pollutants which make their way up the food chain
- selling waste to China because we don’t have the resources to deal with it on our own (supposedly)
- affects of plastics on water pollution
- touching upon the idea that there are “safe amounts of pollutants”
4. Persuasive? Compelling?
- cool graphics, easy to read
- it’s ridiculous how much plastic is out in the ocean.
- dissecting birds and finding plastic…wow
- whether it’s collection out in the ocean or on the beaches, plastics are abundant in the pollutant community
- the truth about recycling – the semantics of recycling (downcycling)
- tough to keep track of all the types of plastic (not like glass)
- “we are the problem and we should provide the solution”
- the extent to which people go to figuring out loopholes in the definition of the plastic bag in cities that ban them somehow are not surprising
- landfill fire in Dehli is pretty shocking
- “this has all come from us, poor families don’t waste anything”
- Anita Ahuja and her Conserve company, providing jobs and manufacturing bags and jewelry
- new-car smell is dosing you with hormones - that’s pretty crazy
- abnormal biological developments
- some controversy illustrated by opposing theories provided by experts = hard to truly understand the problems
- one university professor admits that he has no idea how to solve the problem
5. Not Compelling?
- fun and informative, I think this film did a great job of covering the basics and even delving into some of the more complicated – some of the information seemed a bit superfluous, but whatever you didn’t want to absorb, you didn’t have to, the film still conveyed its message very clearly
6. Info to Seek Out?
- all the cool and innovative ways to reuse plastic really makes me wonder what I can do to help; maybe I’m missing something; maybe there’s some cool little trick I can think up or even include in my designs as an architect
7. Audience?
- written and described in such a way that there is very little the general public can’t understand – maybe some of the more scientific data could escape a few, but the basic ideas are quite simple
8. Actions? Interventions?
- education is needed to make people understand that “their behavior” is causing this damage
- Denmark seems to be doing it right (recycling)
- incentives, refunds
- interesting reuse of plastic – the Texas example – making it into railroad ties
- other examples of reuse show that there are possibilities – Padagonia, carpeting, plastic bags into purses, recycling flip-flops into jewelry and decorations
- “landfills will be the oil wells of the future”
- little village in the Himalayas using plastic alternatives like newspaper
- “fluff” production in Tennessee
- experts are reducing their plastic use because they are well aware of the issues
- it was pretty funny when the director attempted to live his life without plastic
- Dr. Kaminsy’s work on “parolisis,” (sp?) turning plastic back into the oil from which it came and Dr. O’Connor’s bacteria counterpart
- Sony’s vegetable-based plastic and planning on bio-degradable products
- Plantic’s edible plastic (when it dissolves, what does it dissolve into?)
- plenty of examples at the end of the film (I didn’t realize there were so many)
9. Enhance film environmentally? educationally?
- good use of graphics combined with expert interview, to explain gyres
- although humorous, the graphics are definitely insightful
- the final clips showing a myriad of examples is just amazing. most of the movie is pretty dreary, but this ending really uplifting
- this is probably the first film I’ve seen that actually shows potentially viable solutions